Mindfulness & Social Emotional Learning

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

Roanoke City School District has a robust mindfulness-based Social and Emotional Learning Program that supports all students and staff.

Some of our programs, initiatives, and activities to support our students and staff include:

Our school counselors, school social workers, teachers, school psychologists, school administrators, and staff provide students with social and emotional support every day. We are all working in service of our students and RCPS families.
We offer adult social and emotional learning practices and professional learning for our teachers and staff, such as "Building a Sense of Belonging and a Caring Community" and the "Well-Being and Resilience Series."
We continue to integrate SEL with academics through our instructional core values and responsive lesson plan. We use the SEL 3 Signature Practices to bring SEL into every lesson with welcoming activities, engaging strategies, and optimistic closures.
We are currently offering a book study for staff, Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive, by Marc Brackett, Ph.D., which introduces the RULER SEL framework from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.

Mindfulness Program

Roanoke City School District practices mindfulness throughout the district, from the classroom to professional learning. We have worksheets and tutorials available to our students, staff, and families below:

Coordinator of Mindfulness Education
Laurie Seidel
(540) 853-1726 | lseidel@rcps.info

The Mindfulness Program is part of the Student Services team, which is led by:

Dr. Hayley Poland

Assistant Superintendent of Student Success & Support Services
(540) 853-1393 | hpoland@rcps.info

Truancy Prevention is part of the Academics team, which reports to:

Dr. Cyndi Williams
Chief Academic & Accountability Officer
(540) 853-6113 | cynthiawilliams@rcps.info

Resources and Activities

Conversation Starters

Use our conversation starters to create the habit of having conversations with your child. The below list is also available as a downloadable PDF: Conversation Starters

Here are some simple questions that you can use to create the habit of having conversations with your child. Some children need time to decompress after school before they are ready to talk. When your child tells you about their day, provide your undivided attention. Remember that becoming a good listener can take practice. Your calming presence can be felt by your child and helps you build a special bond of trust.

What was your favorite part about school today?
What activity did you like the most today? And the least?
Did any of your classmates need help today? What happened?
What is a problem you solved today? How did you do it?
If you could change just one thing about school, what would that be?
Did anything happen at school today that surprised you?
Who did you play with/talk with at school today?
If you could do any moment at school over today, what would it look like?
What did you read or discuss today that interests you?
What was the funniest thing that happened in your class today?

Resources

Here are a few resources to check out:

On Our Sleeves, The Movement for Children’s Mental Health. Their Operation: Conversation helps you start conversations with kids which builds their mental health. https://www.onoursleeves.org/

The Kids Mental Health Foundation

Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Parent Resources. They have 25 better ways to get your kids to open up about school, including questions for grade schoolers, middle schoolers, and high schoolers.

25 Better Ways to Ask Kids About Their School Day

Positive Parenting Connection. They have 25 questions that get kids to talk about school.

25 Questions That Get Kids to Talk About School

Kind Mind Practice

This is a simple practice to cultivate kindness, one of the key values to foster social connection in our communities.

May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I be strong.

May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you be strong.

May we be happy.
May we be healthy.
May we be safe.
May we be strong.

Download the activity

This is a simple practice to cultivate kindness, one of the key values to foster social connection in our communities. We can build a caring community “from the inside out,” where we see each other, hear each other, and learn how to take care of ourselves as well as take care of others. With kind mind practice, we are generating feelings of care and compassion for others.

Saying these phrases silently to yourself, we begin with ourselves, or “I” phrases, offering caring for our bodies and minds and building awareness of what we need. When we treat ourselves with kindness, we are likely to make healthy choices. Then we move on to “you” phrases, the wishes being extended out to another (this can be to a close friend, to a teacher, to a new classmate, or even to another student with whom we disagree). And the third step is to send these wishes out to the entire school community, the “we” phrases, with no one left out and to build a sense of belonging.

And it’s called a “practice” for a reason. The more you practice, the stronger your kindness grows and the wider your circle of compassion becomes.

Compassion is cultivated, like a garden. As a gardener, I cannot make the plants grow or the flowers bloom. I can support the conditions of the garden by providing ample water, cultivating the soil, and adding any nutrients the plants may need. For compassion to emerge, certain conditions must be present. This is what we are cultivating when we practice “kind mind” in our schools, homes and communities.

SEL 3 Signature Practices (Videos)

Welcoming Activity

Invite your family to stand or sit together and pause as everyone gets ready.

Say: "Let’s take a moment to be here together, and now let’s take 3 or 4 calm, slow breaths."

Pause for deep breaths.

Say: "Now let’s remember a positive shared experience we’ve had as a family. I’m thinking of _________."

Smile and give everyone else the opportunity to remember and smile, too.

Ask: "How does it feel inside to remember this experience?"

Allow time for sharing responses.

Say: "Now I invite you to share an experience that you remember, too."

Continue listening and smiling as everyone takes turns sharing.

STOP Practice

The STOP Practice can help whenever you feel distress, creating space to observe and tame your feelings, and to access the deeper resources within you.

Give yourself a moment to come to rest, pause and collect yourself. The STOP practice can help whenever you feel distress, creating space to observe and tame your feelings, and to access the deeper resources within you.

This practice can support you during stressful times or when difficult emotions arise at any point in your day. The four steps can take as little as a few seconds to a few minutes to complete.

S – Stop

To begin, the “S” stands simply for stop. Just stop what you’re doing. Give yourself a moment to come to rest, pause, and collect yourself.

T – Take a Breath

Take 3 or 4 slow, deep, calming belly breaths, feeling the air coming in through the nostrils, filling your chest and abdomen, and then flowing out slowly. Let’s take 3 or 4 deep breaths, doing this at your own pace. Then let your breathing settle into a natural rhythm. 

O – Observe

Observe your experience in this moment—check in with yourself in a kind, non-judgmental, curious way. You might notice any thoughts, emotions, or bodily sensations. 

What are my thoughts like right now?

What am I feeling right now?

What physical sensations do I notice?

P – Proceed

Last, the “P” reminds you to proceed. Now that you have paused, taken a few slow deep breaths, and checked in with yourself, you can choose how best to move forward from here. You can take the next step in your day with clarity and wisdom.

3 Breaths

Practicing 3 Breaths in difficult moments can create a purposeful pause so we can choose what we say or do next (rather than reacting).

The stress of daily life can be challenging, and often we feel rushed; it’s hard to be fully present. We may be distracted by what we’ve left behind or worried about something in the future. As parents, we want to be calm, predictable, and fully present so that we can have strong relationships built on trust. There are times when we need a moment to check in with ourselves, calm our own emotions, and settle so that we can better meet the challenges of parenting.

This is a simple skill called “3 Breaths” that we can use anytime. Practicing this in difficult moments can create a purposeful pause so we can choose what we say or do next (rather than reacting). It’s also helpful when transitioning from one activity to the next (for example, when arriving home after a long, busy day).

3 Breaths is a deep breathing practice, which research has shown helps calm our nervous system, slowing down our heart rate, lowering our blood pressure, and bringing stress hormones back down to baseline. You can practice 3 Breaths while sitting, standing, lying down, or while walking!

3 Breaths Practice Script

The first step is to Pause. Sit comfortably in a chair, feet on the floor, with your back straight. In a moment we will take a few slow deep breaths. We want the breath to come from our lower abdomen, a deep diaphragmatic breath. When first learning this skill, it can help to place your hand on your abdomen to feel it expand on the inhalation and shrink on the exhalation.

Now I invite you to take 3 or 4 deep breaths at your own pace; breathe in deeply, then breathe out very slowly. Take a few moments now to take these deep, calming breaths. Notice the sensation of air as it goes in and out of your body, calming your body. When you’re finished the deep breaths, just breathe at your normal pace.

To end: Now take a moment to thank yourself for taking this time for self-care. You may want to gently move and stretch your body, and slowly transition back into your day.

Gratitude Practice

Taking time to appreciate what — and who — we have in our lives has many benefits. This simple Gratitude Practice helps us to remember what we are grateful for.

Taking time to appreciate what — and who — we have in our lives has many benefits. In our daily life, we can practice three mindfulness tips for growing feelings of gratitude.

Finding time to practice gratitude in small ways throughout our day enables us to work through difficult emotions and find greater balance.

Along with enhancing our personal lives, gratitude can also improve our performance at school or work by helping us get more sleep, improve our work environment, and contribute more constructively to our mission and values.

The first step will be to identify things that you’re grateful for and do this on a daily basis. You can do this when you’re going to sleep or waking up. You can begin a journal for your gratitude practice. Explore this practice and notice the positive impact it can have for you.

Take a moment to pause and settle, perhaps take a few slow, deep breaths. Then work through three simple ways to reflect on what you appreciate to grow your sense of gratitude.

Tap into 5 things that you are grateful for
Get inspired: Think of at least one person right now who you are appreciative or grateful for having in your life, as an inspiration in some way. Settle into thinking: “What is it about this person that I am actually appreciative of?” Allow yourself to feel that.
Grow grateful feelings: Set the intention to text, email, message, or call that person today to share with them what it is about them that you’re appreciative of, or just to let them know that you’re appreciative for having them in your life.